Computer shuts down when playing a 3D game...

The weirdest thing... my computer won't run any 3d application anymore. If i try and run Command and Conquer Generals, fifa 2004, or half life (all 3d games), it dies. Yet i can happily run Rollercoaster Tycoon 2 (a 2D game) for hours without a hiccup. When I say it "dies", all i can do is describe what happens...
I can run the game for about 2 minutes (if I am lucky) and then...
1) it freezes for about 5 seconds
2) the monitor turns itself on standby (yellow light insteadof a green one)
3) i can still hear the music, but it stops after about 20 seconds
4) i can still hear the fans working, and the green light on the front of the comp, but nothing works, none of the keys, alt f4, ctrl alt del, nothing.
5) I have to turn it off at the back and use the power switch to turn it back on again, and it loads up like nothings happened.
How strange is that? Let me just emphasise something... I hadn't changed a thing before it started happening. I hadn't changed the software or hardware for about 6 months, no driver update, no change of graphics card, no overclocking... nothing.
My specs are
Msi KT4v agp 8x mobo
AMD t'bird 2800+ xp
1.25gb ddr ram
350w PSU
Radeon 9500pro 128mb
300gb Maxtor hdd
200gb WD hdd
AC97 onboard sound
DVD drive
CDRW drive
3.5" Floppy
I've run a virus checker, reformatted and reinstalled WinXP w/ sp1 (thought that would fix it, grrr), updated the bios ages ago, checked the hsf/fan is seated correctly.
What do you think? I'm not too tech savvy but I reckon something has burnt out and damaged slightly. I leave my computer on 24/7, and my small room can get pretty hot sometimes. Possibly the gfx card, or the memory on it?
Cheers.

:-D)crap, sorry about that, new here, solution got erased im such a dumbass
try adding a case fan if space available in case, get one cheap and good at http://www.newegg.com
good luck

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****Please click on Accept As Solution if a suggestion solves your problem. It helps others facing the same problem to find a solution easily****
2015 Microsoft MVP - Windows Experience Consumer

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